Contextual Factors in Database Integration — A Delphi Study

Abstract

Database integration is an important process in information systems development, maintenance, and evolution. Schema matching, the identification of data elements that have the same meaning, is a critical step to ensure the success of database integration. Much research has been devoted to developing matching heuristics. If these heuristics are to be useful and acceptable, they must meet the expectations of their users. This paper presents an exploratory Delphi study that investigates what information is used by professionals for schema matching.